In a Truth Social post, Trump said the alliance was weak without the U.S. and accused its members of acting under the influence of fear.
Trump emphasized that European countries did not want to participate in efforts to stop what he described as the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. He also complained about criticizing the rise in oil prices after some allies refused to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping lanes for energy exports. In his opinion, reopening this passage would require only limited military action with very little risk for Europe.
His statements resonated after a recent European Union summit could not approve military assistance to Washington in the U.S. confrontation with Iran. Instead, participants were limited to a general call to increase the number of ships in existing EU missions near the coast of Somalia and in the Red Sea.
These remarks indicate growing tension between Washington and its European partners over the extent to which U.S. security operations in the Middle East should be supported.
